Kerrville's defense comes through in win for all stars

For six innings, the Kerrville Little League All Stars strong defense and solid pitching kept the game at a deadlock against Fredericksburg on Wednesday.

In the top of the sixth the offense finally exploded for six runs in a 9-3 win in the winners bracket of the District 26 minors tournament.

"We were more patient at the plate and started to take our time up there," said Kerrville coach Joe Castillo. "We had hoped our offense would click better, but we made up for that with the strong finish to the game."

Kerrville entered the top of the sixth tied at three and loaded the bases on three Fredericksburg miscues (two walks, one error). Walker Grimes then drove in what proved to be the game-winning run with a single into shallow right field.

Grimes' single was followed by a pair of walks and a sacrifice fly to drive in a run. Regan Robertson then put the game out of reach in by driving in a two more runs.

Kerrville will play on Friday at 8 p.m. in the winners bracket of the double-elimination tournament.

The loss puts Fredericksburg, the defending District 26 Champions, in jeopardy of being one of the first teams eliminated and after playing back-to-back games already, staying alive in the tournament will be a difficult task. Fredericksburg will play Bulverde Blue tonight at 7 p.m. It will be its third game in as many days.

For Kerrville, avoiding the predicament Fredericksburg is in was motivation towards picking up the first win.

"It's tough with this format, because if you lose, back-to-backs can end your season," Castillo said before the tournament started. "That's why winning the first game and staying in that top bracket is so important."

While the offense put the game out of reach, Kerrville's Travis White and Andrew Howdeshall combined for a superb performance on the mound, battling out of a couple jams to keep Fredericksburg from potentially opening up a large lead early in the game.

"They did a really nice job. To get out of this game using just two pitchers is big because of pitch-count rules," Castillo said. "They worked hard and the defense played very well behind them."

The defense buckled down early for Kerrville, snuffing out a bases-loaded, no-out scenario in the second inning and turning a key 6-4-3 double play in the third to when Fredericksburg had the lead-off batter at first base.

In the sixth inning the defense put an exclamation point on the win. First Howdeshall caught a batter swinging to start a "strike em' out, throw em' out" double play. His next pitch was hit to left field, but Stony Rhodes made a diving grab to end the game.

Hill Country 12, Blanco 2

The Hill Country Little League All Star team picked up its second win of the District 26 tournament, topping Blanco 12-2 in four innings.

Indio Castro pitched for Hill Country -- which consists of players from Ingram, Center Point and Comfort -- as he and his teammates moved on to the next round of the winners bracket in the double-elimination tournament.

Hill Country will play against Brady on Friday at 8 p.m. on Field B in Kerrville.